The Russo Brothers launched a rainy SXSW in London on Tuesday afternoon.
AGBO founders Anthony and Joe Russo were joined by their partner, former Epic Games creative director Donald Mustard, in a keynote session titled “Building Art Universes Without Borders” at the Shoreditch portion of the main festival and conference event.
My boss Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame He began by praising its record-breaking box office work mania and Back rooms Directors Cary Parker, 26, and Ken Parsons, 20, have become the latest saviors of cinematic horror. “If you follow your own spirit, I’m fascinated by it mania… [It’s] Pretty funny, isn’t it? “In a very dark way, it was made for less than a million dollars, and it will be the highest-grossing film ever,” Anthony Russo said.
“It is an explosively devastating moment… [The state of the film business] Anthony Russo added: “It’s in a very complicated place, but I think that’s a good thing. I think it’s a good thing, because Gen Z is getting older to become not only the dominant audience, but the dominant story today.”
It wasn’t long before they of course achieved what was highly anticipated Avengers: Doomsdaywhich is scheduled to premiere next December. Anthony Russo said that despite his distance End game There was a strong sense of closure – and admittedly the guys were “exhausted” after those seven years leading the franchise – it was an idea from writer Stephen McFeely that “reignited” their desire to return to the MCU. He came up with this creative idea that caught fire again [the project]I cannot talk about that creative idea, because it is the basis doomsdayBut this [idea] Suddenly the sky opened up, and we saw all kinds of new possibilities with that idea.
Joe Russo said they are “back to phase zero” of the MCU doomsday And Robert Downey Jr. plays the antagonist Doctor Doom: “This show shifts and changes and surprises you and then reinvents itself and then shifts and changes and surprises you — that’s exciting and I think you’re going to see some shift and change[with[withdoomsday]. So, get ready for that. Look, we were with Rob [Downey Jr.] Earlier today. We were talking about this concept that we are back to phase zero. This is starting from scratch. We want to make sure that everyone feels that this is not based on anything from the past.
The filmmakers have been asked before diverse Associate Editor Ramin Sotoudeh tells us how they navigate working with a huge — and star-studded — cast. “Every one of these actors is playing someone’s favorite character, so if you’re not going to look the character right, you’re going to disappoint someone in that audience,” Joe answered. “We grew up in the biggest Italian family. … We understand how to tell stories with multiple characters. A lot of that has to do with very subtle shifts in character perspective throughout the story, ‘if a bull lands, if he accidentally cuts that off.’ [Sebastian] “Stan exploded… That’s how close these viewpoints are to each other, and it’s all very well calibrated, from a protocol standpoint.”
The men were also asked about other headliners in their portfolio, including an Oscar winner Everything everywhere at once And Netflix Gray manwhich became one of the most watched films of all time. This prompted a rallying cry from Joe Russo, who was asked about making it Gray man Deal with Netflix instead of prioritizing theatrical release.
“We have to stop trying [say] Every story should work with all media, and some media are better than others. This is not true. Like, watch the story where you want to watch the story. Don’t want to watch it at home? Go watch it on your computer, on your phone. You have the right to see the story the way you want to see it. On YouTube, there are amazing filmmakers who were in the phone business, and now they are destroying the box office,” she said, referring to Parker and Parsons again.
He continued: “All of this is translatable at some point, and there are huge assets for digital platforms with an incredible amount of diversity in the digital space, because they are more region-focused and will make regional content, you know? There are real opportunities for regional filmmakers to have a chance to make something with some real financial acumen. All of these things need to be embraced.”
“I think part of the problem with culture today is that everything is conflict-driven, because social media is conflict-driven, because that’s what keeps you on social media. If you’re happy, you’re not on social media, you’re living your life outside. You’re not worried about what other people are doing, you’re not worried about what your neighbor said,” Joe said. “If we don’t stop attacking every step in our sector… we won’t stop [anything] We left, because we’re going down the rabbit hole where everything is neutral.
“The only thing left that connects us all is… [telling] “Stories, and the more we can diversify those stories, the more we can democratize how we tell those stories,” he added.
SXSW London 2026 takes place from June 1-6.
